SPARK

Funded Partner

SPARK has a special focus on the often-neglected diseases, including those in the area of Child and Maternal Health. Thanks to funding from the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, 18 projects in this area have reached the clinic or commercial sectors.

SPARK is a unique partnership between the University and industry experts. Building upon Stanford’s tradition of technological innovation and entrepreneurship, Chemical and Systems Biology Professor, Daria Mochly-Rosen, founded the SPARK program, and joined by Professor Kevin Grimes later in the first year, to provide a cost-effective model to generate proof of concept using out-of-the-box academic approaches combined with industry standards.

SPARK provides access to specialized knowledge and technical expertise regarding drug and diagnostic development, dedicated core laboratory facilities, and sources of funding to support translational efforts.


FY 2022 Awards

Alma Martina Cepika, MD, PhD
Instructor, Pediatrics - Stem Cell Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine
Study Title: 2nd generation engineered Tr1 cell therapy

Priscila Ferreira Slepicka, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Pediatrics - Stem Cell Transplantation & Regenerative Medicine
Study Title: Genetic Engineering of Gamma Delta (γδ) T Cells with the IL-2 Cytokine Receptor Orthogonal Pair (OIL-2R/OIL-2) as Immunotherapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemi

Bereketeab Haileselassie, MD
Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Critical Care Medicine
Study Title: Inhibitor of immune dysregulation in pediatric sepsis

Benjamin Kraemer, PhD
Student, Chemical & Systems Biology Operations
Study Title: ALDH4A1 Activators to Treat Pediatric Hyperprolinemia Type II

Thomas Larocca, MD
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Critical Care Medicine
Study Title: An anti-sense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutic targeting a RhoBTB2 disease causative variant in a pediatric patient with refractory epilepsy

Elizabeth Mellins, M.D.
Professor, Pediatrics - Human Gene Therapy
Study Title: Development of actionable biomarkers in pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS)

Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD
Professor, Chemical & Systems Biology Operations
Study Title: ALDH4A1 Activators to Treat Pediatric Hyperprolinemia Type II

Claudia Petritsch, MD
Associate Professor, Neurosurgery
Study Title: microMESH-based therapeutic approach for children with brain cancer

Past Awards